Friday, 13 June 2008

The Royal College of Anaesthetists (RCoA) said that they’d publish the exam results yesterday. I figured that it was unlikely that the results would be out first thing in the morning, so I waited until the end of the morning theatre list before looking. I nervously logged on to the computer and went on to their website only to be greeted with a message saying something like “we are still checking and verifying the results and we hope to publish them before 5 o’clock today.”

Great.

I continue doing my job and at 16:30, I wander round to the computer terminal in the operating theatre and log on again. It’s there. There’s a link that says Primary MCQ Pass List.

At this point, I’m physically shaking. My mind briefly flicks back to the weeks and weeks of work I put into sitting this exam. To the stag parties, house parties and sports matches I’ve missed because of my study schedule. I think once again of how fucking depressed I’ll be if all that has gone to waste. I’ve been speaking to the SHOs and registrars in the last week or so and none of them who have passed this exam answered anywhere near all the questions on the paper (negative marking) and I thought that perhaps my gung-ho attitude to the paper was a little foolish.

Anyway, all that’s behind me know and and shake my head, take a big breath and click the link.

A .pdf file opens and the hospital computer system slowly downloads its contents. I look around at my patient on the table, she’s fine, completely stable and well anaesthetised. I look back and the file had opened.

It’s a simple list of numbers with the word “PASS” in blue next to each number. I realise that it’s a list of our candidate and royal college numbers and there were several missing from the sequence e.g. numbers 100 and 102 were on the list but 101 was not. Basically if your number was on the list, then you had passed.

I quickly scroll down a couple of pages to where my number should be.

I look.

I look again.

I check my candidate number on the letter that the RCoA had sent me.

I look again.

It’s there!

I check the letter again.

I look again.

It’s definitely there!Without a shadow of a doubt.

I’ve passed!!

“Come on!!” I shout. “That’s what I’m talking about!” This causes everyone in the room to stop and look round at me and I beam back at everyone.

“I just found out I passed my Anaesthetic Primary MCQ Exam.” I state and I get lots of “Well dones” and “Congratulations” in response.

This means that all the hard work I’ve put in was time spent well and, more importantly, I effectively get most of the summer free of study so I can really enjoy myself. And enjoy myself, I will.

I spent the rest of the day feeling generally pleased with myself and letting every single person I bumped into, doctors, nurses, patients and porters know what I’d achieved.